I haven't played the game because its not out in America yet, but I've seen a full playthrough of it and... I'm gonna be honest... this has been the most disappointing game since AAI, especially coming from DD.

Everything just seems like a downgrade from DD. The graphics are dull, the court animations are dull, the mysteries are dull (once again proving that Takumi cannot write a damn mystery to save his life), the court sections and puzzles are too easy and uninspiring (I saw all the contradictions right away, even Dual Destinies made me think and have game overs!), the Layton investigations were so weak (heck, you only zoom in like 3 times in the game, iirc).

The main cast (that is, Layton, Luke, Nick and Maya) are the only good characters in the game as all the supporting characters and witnesses are bare-boned in comparison to Dual Destinies' and the plot has the most plotholes since Unwound Future's plot twist.

Oh, the plot twist is just so terrible.

Spoiler: The plot twist

Not only it came out of nowhere and it doesn't make sense at all.

There's almost nothing that hints to this revelation and it honestly feels like it was written last minute just to not mess with the canon of the series.

I'd much preferred if magic was actually real and that Layton and co's memories were erased at the end of the game than the mess we got for an ending instead. At least it wouldn't contradict its own premise and beginning!

The plot twist being justified as a "Layton staple" doesn't make it better! Sheesh, we're talking about a series that has supernatural happenings along the logical things and Ace Attorney has Spirit Mediums so magic being real wouldn't feel weird at all!

And while I liked the Mass Examinations, I really feel like they weren't fresh enough and felt stale pretty quickly. Nothing innovative was done with them and the ones from the last Witch Trail was tedious to watch, even more because the contradiction were too easy to spot, a fact aggravated by every. single. character. spelling. it. out. to. you.

Literally the only thing this game did good was the production values in the music and cutscenes, and while I prefer the cutscenes from this game, the soundtrack is on par with DD for me.

I'm sorry if I sound hateful, but after being told by everyone how "much better" this game was than DD, I just feel so disappointed. I was expecting something great and instead I got a pretty looking, nice sounding, plothole ridden mess.

... Each to his own, I guess.It'll be easier if I point out the things I didn't like:- The "defender" had most of the contradictions spelled out and delivered in a plate for him. The only case this didn't happen as much was Belduke's suicide.- I'll be honest, I'd have preferred if during the mob examinations the witnesses made no sound when reacting to a statement. I'd like to be able to question them myself if I feel like it. Then again, with the ridiculous number of witnesses that get put on the stand it sometimes may be hard to get the right person.

That's about it. I've learnt to deal with "Layton Endings", from his previous games.

Personally being both a huge Layton fan and a huge Ace Attorney fan, I really loved the plot of PLvsPWAA, and having beaten it I can say fully confident that it was an amazing ride from start to the VERY END, and that also includes the ending.

See -- I thought he final plot twist was both a disappointment but a necessary evil. It HAD to be in the game or otherwise it wouldn't truly feel like a blend of Layton and Wright IMO. And the more I think about it, the more I actually like the twist. I think I'm too lazy to get into too much detail right now, but I'll boil it down to this:The Good:-It's only way to conlcude the game without breaking either of the franchise's trappings.

Spoiler:

Magical things in Layton always turn out to be fake. There's no multidimensional stuff in Phoenix Wright either

-In the end the twist logically explains everything that has transpired in the story (minus some things in the prologue)The Bad:-No proper foreshadowing. It's as left-field as it gets.-It may ruin your impression of the earlier events in the story.Also

Spoiler:

if you didn't see the whole "nothing we see was ever real" trope coming, then I doubt you've ever played another Layton game. I kept thinking that was what was going to happen right from the moment they arrived in Labyrinthia

So the ending did get Hino'd, but it was in no way as poorly done as it was in either Panora's Box. To me the story was at least as good as Unwound Future which had a very good reception but it also contained a big immersion-breaking twist, but despite of that most people still thought its plot worked. I think PLvsPWAA belongs in the same category.

In fact - having seen it all now, I think DD is much less impressive now. How people can argue that DD has better writing or even just "as good" writing is beyond me. Either PLvsPWAA got a significantly better Localization or some people must be too blind to see how bad the writing is in Dual Destinies in general.

Summed up quickly I'd say it goes like this:

DD = Contrived afterthought motives while PLvsPWAA = solid motives all around.DD = Dialogue is sappy when it tries to be emotional, forced when it tries to be funny more often than not. PLvsPWAA = Nails it with every joke, emotional moments can make you swallow a lump.

Enough about that though. But there you have it. I absolutely loved every bit of PLvsPWAA. I think it's one of my favorite 3DS games, and top 3 or top 4 material in regards to the Ace Attorney titles. Top 4 material as a Layton game, beating every single one from the prequel trilogy IMO.

Nah, son. I, too, am a fan of Layton and Ace Attorney and I have played all the games and this is one of the most poor written resolutions in both series. It's not like Layton games shy away from magical things as the prequel trilogy might as well be

Spoiler: prequel trilogy

-Layton finds a magical curative garden-Layton encounters an ancient civilization so advanced it might as well be supernatural.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the story is complete baloney. If Takumi can do anything right is writing a good plot and characterization. And I was actually enjoying the story a lot until the plot twist because the story basically lost all sense of urgency.

Spoiler: Plot twist talk

That plot twist was done so badly and explained so poorly, I almost felt like I was watching Diabolical Box and it definitely didn't feel like Takumi's writing at all.

I came in expecting a "current" Layton ending, not an ending from the first trilogy.

On the dialogue and such, I cannot disagree; as I've said, Takumi can write good characters. However, none of the supportive characters get enough development for me to care about them and thus I find it hammy and cheesy, even more than Dual Destinies' chapter 3.

Hell, the so-called "sad moments" didn't make me shed a tear even once this time, because of the aftermentioned lack of character development.

Spoiler: Entire DD and PLvsAA plot

I didn't care about Jean at all because we only met her for about 30 minutes, whereas I cared about Rimes and I actually got teary-eyed.

I didn't care about Espella at all because she hardly gets any spot light, compared to Athena, whose entire backstory was better done and I got so attached to her by the end I was sobbing.

Darklaw being the true culprit did nothing for me; she was basically absent for the entire game. Bobby Fulbright was around for so much longer and thus his betrayal hurt more.

And Apollo's situation stands out more to me than anything this game threw out to me. I just ended caring more for DD's characters than PLvsAA's which is odd because Takumi writes good characters but this time...

I do agree the humor was spot-on, but overall I find the entire story less entertaining than Dual Destinies because:

-The plot twist is terrible, unbelievable, cheesy and just a step backwards-The new characters are so superficially touched that I end up not caring about anything that happens to them and I find their dialogue cheesy and annoying.

-It's only way to conlcude the game without breaking either of the franchise's trappings.

Spoiler:

Magical things in Layton always turn out to be fake. There's no multidimensional stuff in Phoenix Wright either

Oh come on, how is that the "only way"? :/

Spoiler:

Like modern-day magicians, Cantabella needed the technology and government sponsors to pull off something like this. However, it definitely could have been written better. If everything is meant to turn out to be an illusion, did we really have to rely on hallucinogenic chemicals again? I'm just fine with the mechanical city and the anachronism, but it really feels like an asspull with the "mysterious substance" in the groundwater and how it causes people to faint by hearing silver.

Besides, I was hoping it was meant as a secret government social experiment, not just something an old man wanted to build for his daughter, and instead utilized impossibly perpetual stasis machines that could keep people stuck in a dream. I guess it'd be a little too sci-fi for others, though.

We didn't even get a giant robot in this game. I am disappoint.

Monobear Theater wrote:

Spoiler: Plot twist talk

That plot twist was done so badly and explained so poorly, I almost felt like I was watching Diabolical Box and it definitely didn't feel like Takumi's writing at all.

I came in expecting a "current" Layton ending, not an ending from the first trilogy.

Spoiler: To be fair

it was an ending paying tribute to the first trilogy of Layton games, so it's only expected that Diabolical Box plot contrivance would make it in as well. I didn't find that the mechanical city or anachronism stood out as much regarding contrivance levels, since there really was no other way to explain how people could fly without jetpack exhaust streaming from their butts. (But then you have to wonder if it's the same architecture in London too...)

I apologize for sounding so negative but I'm just beary disappointed. I loved Dual Destinies (while I acknowledge its flaws) so when I read people saying how "this game's story was much better than Dual Destinies' and how much a better game it was than Dual Destinies" I was expecting this epic game with a great story and gameplay and instead I got an average entry with great production values for both series.

It's not even that bad of a game and once I'll play I will probably appreciate it more but as it stands my disappointment is... giving me an incredible level of despair :/

I do agree that the plot-twist itself felt like a huge letdown, but like I said I thought the way the game built upon it in the moments that followed was done admirably.

Monobear, you mentioned that you thought it was unlike Takumi... well guess why, he was probably asked to include certain Layton trappings in the story he came up with, and since the credits said Mr. Hino of Level-5 was also directing the Layton-aspect of the game, you can assume that it was him who wanted to shoehorn that twist into the game.

But again, the more you try thinking about how else the plot could've ended the more you end up realising that from the get-go you were in for a disappointment,

Spoiler:

because despite of minor magical stuff happening in either Phoenix Wright or Layton, bringing multi-dimensional plots would be stretching it.

And even if the actual resolution was disappointing to you, you can't deny the rest of the game was pretty damn good, can you? I'm just happy that the twist didn't break the impact of the second witch trial's plot for example.

Spoiler:

Mr. Belduke still dies despite of the twist and everything still happened, even if it was within a construction site and not a magical multidimensional world

Haven't played (or looked at a playthrough) for this yet, but I have something to say. Also, I'm trying to remain unspoiled so I'm not going to acknowledge your spoiler tags.

linkenski wrote:

I thought this as well. Each case has a lot of things that was recycled in Dual Destinies, which has made my impression of that game even worse now :-(

What pained me most to realise this was the fact that this would mean that Yamazaki either got an early copy, being a Capcom-employee or something, or that he ripped all of it off during the first quarter of 2013 just months before DD was about to release.

I was always under the impression that the entire plot for every case was something a writer got down before a game was even in production. It's more understandable why DD's plot ended up feeling so dull if they just rushed it to get it done shortly before its month of release. But I dunno, maybe nothing really changed there?

Okay I know it's implausible okay, but first of all, The Capcom-guy who handled the art in PLvPWAA was Kazuya Nuri and AA5's art director was Fuse Takuro... I don't know why I had to blurt this out lol, but art has nothing to do with it either I don't think.

But considering that Dual Destinies already ripped off a lot of old case-designs, like the whole forbidden chamber thing in case 2 being awfully similar to Kurain Village and its locked room in case 2 of JFA for instance, or 5-3's resemblance of the lyrical murder of 4-3. It can't be a coincidence that he also ended up making so similar plot-points to PLvsPWAA as well. There are just too many similarities for me to believe that.

Again I know it sounds far-fetched considering he'd have to do so in a 6-month time-span, but as I see it there's just too many of these "coincidences"

EDIT: But I digress, I know it sounds too good to be true.

linkenski wrote:

In fact - having seen it all now, I think DD is much less impressive now. How people can argue that DD has better writing or even just "as good" writing is beyond me. Either PLvsPWAA got a significantly better Localization or some people must be too blind to see how bad the writing is in Dual Destinies in general.

Summed up quickly I'd say it goes like this:

DD = Contrived afterthought motives while PLvsPWAA = solid motives all around.DD = Dialogue is sappy when it tries to be emotional, forced when it tries to be funny more often than not. PLvsPWAA = Nails it with every joke, emotional moments can make you swallow a lump.

Enough about that though. But there you have it. I absolutely loved every bit of PLvsPWAA. I think it's one of my favorite 3DS games, and top 3 or top 4 material in regards to the Ace Attorney titles. Top 4 material as a Layton game, beating every single one from the prequel trilogy IMO.

Since I'm responding to quite a bit of your posts, I want to say that I have nothing against you. In fact, I think you're one of the best posters on this forum.

That being said, you have an insane bias towards Takumi. So much so, that I feel like you'd rather have the next AA game by the Yamazaki game suck and have the new Takumi game be awesome instead of having both games be awesome, because that would prove how much "better" Takumi is. Why do I think this? When you say things like Yamazaki plagiarizing Takumi's works is "too good to be true"

For the record, I love Takumi. I don't even think Yamazaki is better. However, you clearly show your disdain for the new writing team often in ludicrous ways. Yamazaki plagiarized Takumi with Dual Destinies? That's absolutely ridiculous and like Bolt said, it's insanely insulting to the team who worked hard on the game.

I could be wrong about this because I briefly got a glimpse of it under someone's spoiler tag and read no further, but I'm under the impression that this game has

Spoiler:

robots

, just like Dual Destinies. You've said before that you don't want it in your AA games because it's too ridiculous and far-fetched, but now you're praising PL v. AA, just because Takumi's name is on it?

As for the similarities Yamazaki has towards Takumi's cases-Locked room murders are a genre of mystery-As are themed murders

Takumi also has similar elements in his cases (3-4 and 4-4) and the Camila-Jowd situation in Ghost Trick is almost exactly the same as Case 5 of AA. Yomiel's backstory is similar to Yogi's, and Cabanela and his perfect record is exactly similar to...yeah

I could argue that Dual Destinies has "just as good" (or marginally worse) writing. Sorry if you don't buy it

I've seen you put positive impressions of Dual Destinies before but then you go somewhere else and bash it. It's your opinion. I understand that. It's insanely biased, though, and you're automatically associating Yamazaki's name with a negative connotation on whatever he produces. Sorry for the rant, but I came hear to see some thoughts about PLvAA and I'm sick of seeing people shit all over Dual Destinies everywhere I go

Last edited by JesusMonroe on Tue Apr 08, 2014 10:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Allow me to correct something, this game does in fact not have those.(Which is rather strange, considering the Layton games thus far)

Ok. Thank God. It would be redundant considering AA and Layton has done it

Wait a minute, not having those means it doesn't have machines that walk around doing their thing. However, there's plenty of other things from earlier Layton games present here.That includes an amazingly brilliant and realistic ending, and equally plausible explanations for all the mysteries over the course of the game.

the Layton investigations were so weak (heck, you only zoom in like 3 times in the game, iirc).

I know you're not trying to be funny but this made me laugh. Yeah, it's a struggle for me to replay the first trilogy and PL4 because that mechanic hadn't been introduced yet. There just isn't really anything in a Layton game as exciting as zooming.

Quote:

We didn't even get a giant robot in this game. I am disappoint.

Spoiler:

That's a spoiler of sorts, but until you wrote that I had no idea how much I wanted 'The Great Witch' to be a giant robot that would destroy Labyrinthia. I mean, Layton games usually end with a ridiculous saving-the-world kind of action sequency fighting massive robots thingy. While AA games mostly end on a cathartic and super-emotional note. Though I liked the game I suppose I found the actual ending part kind of lackluster since it basically trundled to a halt and then there was Barnham on a speedboat. I cannot describe how much this game would have been improved by a giant robot.

JesusMonroe: I appreciate the feedback, and I can see I have turned the knob a bit too high up about my bash of Yamazaki and co.

I will however stand by my opinion. Dual Destinies' final case was, as some stated a bit too similar to that of 1-5 for instance, and there's not one case in the game that didn't blatantly rip off older cases. The similarities to PLvsPWAA could be coincidences (heck, what do I know??) but it's strange considering the track record. I've said multiple times in detail where Dual Destinies didn't quite stick to original ideas, and since I'm just a faraway fan I don't honestly think Yamazaki will be bothered by my ranting.

But if it has start to bug some of you that we can't just keep on topic without negative rants towards Dual Destinies, then I will try to tone myself down abit. But thanks for keeping it civil ;)

Hold it!While I never played a Professor Layton game, which I will definitely do now, I enjoyed the plottwist.

Spoiler: somehow whole story

Maybe, if I hadplayed Layton games the twist won't have hit me like a truck but I think that it was well made for AA standards.While in AA they implied certain things to much they delude you to believe that you have been sucked into a magical fantasy world.Magic was established as a fact. Maybe a little bit to harsh but the first witchtrial had you make to think different. Everything has somehow be done with magic. While everyone sayed that there were no hints that all was fake the (imho bigger) inconsistancys start to happen after it was revealed that Maya was (not) burned and the professor showed up in the woods. There was a solid gold statue of Layton but after a little while there was the professor alive in the woods with Maya.That's whay the ending had to be like this it was to me. It could have been a little big darker but I like happy endings so I like the ending a lot.If you think about bad endings in generall I dare you to Watch HIMYM or play the Mass Effect Series (Even with EC big pile of shit). THIS were shitty endings. :D

What they probably could have done better was the "you are not allowed to see pure black". As the machines and nearly everything pitch black stood there spread across the whole city (big belltower *caugh*). They could have hinted this more to the player. I mean there is something covered or made of that pitch black material. That should have caused multiple unintended optical illusions. Like there was that belltower covered with a big sheet made of that material. While it is "invisible" for Labyrinthias people it still would have covered whats behind it (hard to describe in english what I mean). It is physically there and "only" invisible while not transparent! if you catch my thought. Our brain is good at making missing spots in our sight up of other information we've seen before. That may work for all the machines somehow if they are spreaded across Labyrinthia but the big belltower? That nobody ran into this tower by accident is a bit to farfetched. Also I highly doubt they told them not do cross the park where the belltower stands... Think of a situation like a normal person like Eclair is walking there and the belltower ist still covered.While idling she watches in the direction where the tower should stand. For better explaining, I made this mapWell let's assume that Eclaire sees this person moving before the person is moving behind that covered belltower.Then of a sudden Eclairs view changes for a second as it happens if you are idling somewhere and enjoying the day. After that second her view is moving back where the tower is standing and all of a sudden, they guy moving behind the tower is disappearing becaus the tower is only covered in something and not really invisible. Therefore her mind can not made up that much like a guy she only barely noticed is walking the road down there. At the first time she just might think that there was no guy in the first place walking that particular road.But and this is what why this is fishy to me I bet that this wouldn't only happen to her and only one time.After a few years people would rumor about it and start made a fuzz about it. I think that the drug spreaded through the story sheets could not supress this for a long time since this would be a reoccuring problem and as we learned from this game that the supression of memorys only works as far as the people are not reminded by past things that happened (even if that are things which happened in Labyrinthia like the whole thing with Carmine). I bet enough would happen to have a deja vu and things may start all over again.The only reasonable thing to do for me would be to "move" this tower will all the machines they had there but they didn't.

This together with the opening sequence are my personal two big questionmarks.

As for the game itself, I love it and I have to admit I had no connection with other chars then our 4 heros I was touched by the ending.But that's simply because I was more taken by the tune and theme of the ending itself then by the characters.AA DD was a good game though it had a meh ending but it was not bad...Maybe AA vs PL is not really comparable to the other games. I don't know.

The only time a lawyer can cry is when its all over.~ Godot

~ You know you love somebody, when this person makes you smile everytime. Even when this person just broke your heart.

I did like Espella, Darklaw and all those "Human-like" characters by the end though (Kira too ) other than the main 4 characters, but I do agree the ending had things that made me think of Mass Effect 3's ending, and that's NOT a good sign.

Overall i guess you're right. DD's ending while I thought it was meh, wasn't exactly "Bad" either, because it didn't really contradict anything or leave you feeling a bit cheated or anything.

That nobody ran into this tower by accident is a bit to farfetched. Also I highly doubt they told them not do cross the park where the belltower stands...

The only reasonable thing to do for me would be to "move" this tower will all the machines they had there but they didn't.

This together with the opening sequence are my personal two big questionmarks.

I'll answer these points one at a time, but I don't completely understand the ending either, so take my answers whichever way you will.

Spoiler:

I've wondered about why there are so many Shades who aren't women living in the forest. While it's possible they were all previously convicted for crimes other than witchery, I'd assume the bulk of the Shades would be female, but it's hard to say for sure. Perhaps, there were also those who accidentally ran into supposedly invisible things and were caught, drugged, and kidnapped to the Eldwitch Woods. Perhaps there were those who wandered through the supposedly closed walls of Labyrinthia and ended up there too. In any case, it's not too farfetched to believe that once out, they were hypnotized again for different purposes thereafter.

They couldn't have moved the bell tower because they couldn't dig it out of the ground. There were no machines around in the city that could lift an entire building. They're much too thin-framed to do so.

The opening sequence is the biggest question no matter what, but I can assume that Labrelum Inc. had help from the government, including Scotland Yard, in covering up the mysterious incidents. As for how Layton and Luke were already deep in hallucinations, I dunno. Maybe it's from a single whiff of the bad ink, even though that shouldn't make sense. In any case, the main cast ended up in the city without prior knowledge of how they got there. They must have been unconscious when they were transported.

I've wondered about why there are so many Shades who aren't women living in the forest.

Spoiler:

Well, all the other "dead" people were brought there as well, e.g. the two thugs (Hotz and Plotz in the German version, after the novel by Otfried Preußler ;)) "killed" by Kira in the first witch case.

That nobody ran into this tower by accident is a bit to farfetched. Also I highly doubt they told them not do cross the park where the belltower stands...

The only reasonable thing to do for me would be to "move" this tower will all the machines they had there but they didn't.

This together with the opening sequence are my personal two big questionmarks.

I'll answer these points one at a time, but I don't completely understand the ending either, so take my answers whichever way you will.

Spoiler:

I've wondered about why there are so many Shades who aren't women living in the forest. While it's possible they were all previously convicted for crimes other than witchery, I'd assume the bulk of the Shades would be female, but it's hard to say for sure. Perhaps, there were also those who accidentally ran into supposedly invisible things and were caught, drugged, and kidnapped to the Eldwitch Woods. Perhaps there were those who wandered through the supposedly closed walls of Labyrinthia and ended up there too. In any case, it's not too farfetched to believe that once out, they were hypnotized again for different purposes thereafter.

They couldn't have moved the bell tower because they couldn't dig it out of the ground. There were no machines around in the city that could lift an entire building. They're much too thin-framed to do so.

The opening sequence is the biggest question no matter what, but I can assume that Labrelum Inc. had help from the government, including Scotland Yard, in covering up the mysterious incidents. As for how Layton and Luke were already deep in hallucinations, I dunno. Maybe it's from a single whiff of the bad ink, even though that shouldn't make sense. In any case, the main cast ended up in the city without prior knowledge of how they got there. They must have been unconscious when they were transported.

Spoiler:

Well, the second DLC episode explains what happens in the intro cutscene, but as for why Layton's apartment actually loses a wall from when the witch appears, you'd assume that since Espella went in to hide with Layton and Darklaw was searching for her, that Darklaw would've brought some hallucogenic ink with her, and as she says in the final trial, she was like "oh well, I guess i have to bring these fools along for the ride too then".

Well, the second DLC episode explains what happens in the intro cutscene, but as for why Layton's apartment actually loses a wall from when the witch appears, you'd assume that since Espella went in to hide with Layton and Darklaw was searching for her, that Darklaw would've brought some hallucogenic ink with her, and as she says in the final trial, she was like "oh well, I guess i have to bring these fools along for the ride too then".

Spoiler: About the intro cutscene

The ink was in the Historia Labyrinthia, so of course they all would go on acid trips. She also had the bell with her, so she could have instant sleep whenever convenient. I guess the first time she said Fainfol, Layton and Luke hadn't gotten enough of the ink's gas to fall to its effects yet.

But then that means Nick and Maya have about zero tolerance of drugs if they became unconscious just because of a single glance in the book. >:D

Alright after watching the entire game playthrough I have to say for an Ace Attorney game it is probably the best one in awhile. (Much better than Dual Destinies and Apollo Justice to me) And as for a Professor Layton game, it really has me want to play more of the series since I only own Miracle Mask. However I felt like the overall story towards the end was rather forced then the rest of the story, and the plot holes were to abundant for my taste. Overall I can't wait to play this game and I would like to see another Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game, or a Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton game where Professor Layton enters the world of Phoenix Wright. Also what I loved the most was

Spoiler:

The Edgeworth fan service at the end, it makes me wish they would add a DLC case where Wright and Edgeworth go head to head in English court, I feel like the lack of that was a missed opportunity

Alright after watching the entire game playthrough I have to say for an Ace Attorney game it is probably the best one in awhile. (Much better than Dual Destinies and Apollo Justice to me) And as for a Professor Layton game, it really has me want to play more of the series since I only own Miracle Mask. However I felt like the overall story towards the end was rather forced then the rest of the story, and the plot holes were to abundant for my taste. Overall I can't wait to play this game and I would like to see another Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright game, or a Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton game where Professor Layton enters the world of Phoenix Wright. Also what I loved the most was

Spoiler:

The Edgeworth fan service at the end, it makes me wish they would add a DLC case where Wright and Edgeworth go head to head in English court, I feel like the lack of that was a missed opportunity

I think you should definitely play the first or the third Layton game. They're the best in the franchise IMO and both are much better than Miracle Mask.

JesusMonroe: I appreciate the feedback, and I can see I have turned the knob a bit too high up about my bash of Yamazaki and co.

I will however stand by my opinion. Dual Destinies' final case was, as some stated a bit too similar to that of 1-5 for instance, and there's not one case in the game that didn't blatantly rip off older cases. The similarities to PLvsPWAA could be coincidences (heck, what do I know??) but it's strange considering the track record. I've said multiple times in detail where Dual Destinies didn't quite stick to original ideas, and since I'm just a faraway fan I don't honestly think Yamazaki will be bothered by my ranting.

But if it has start to bug some of you that we can't just keep on topic without negative rants towards Dual Destinies, then I will try to tone myself down abit. But thanks for keeping it civil ;)

(Sorry for late reply)Don't worry. You can shit-talk Yamazaki all you want. Most of your criticisms are fair. I just felt it was unnecessary and unwarranted here, especially since it's highly unlikely Yamazaki copied PLvAA. I could be completely wrong. I haven't played the game yet. If the similarities are too big to ignore, I'll be agreeing with you. If the similarities are just common tropes, then Takumi and Yamazaki just borrowed a page from the same book

I don't think all of Dual Destinies cases are rip-offs, though. 5-1 is completely original, 5-2 just used the same "locked-room murder" trope that Takumi and many other murder mystery writers have used before. 5-3 just used a theme murder and in a completely different way than Takumi used it. That's another thing that Takumi didn't invent. 5-4 is also pretty original. The only cases you could call rip-offs are 5-DLC and 5-5. The DLC is sketchy, though, as I could see the writers just thinking,

Spoiler: 5-DLC

"Somebody wants to kill an orca but accidentally kills someone else. They then decide to frame the murder on the orca to get it put down." I think the DLC is a better version of 2-3.

I can't say the same for 5-5, though, as 1-5 is my favorite case of the series

It's not like Takumi is a stranger to ripping off things, though. At least 5-5 and 5-DLC added their own spin on things. 2-3 is a COMPLETE rip-off of "The Leopard Man's Story." So much so that it's definitely not a coincidence. Takumi also borrows ideas from his older cases as well. None of them are 100% original. 3-3 does the, "victim was killed earlier and the killer dresses as the victim to create a witness and frame someone else" gag, just like 1-4, and the flashback portion of 4-4 rips of 3-4 just as much as 5-5 rips off 1-5. Ghost Trick borrows elements from Ace Attorney as well. You could argue that it's "okay" since Takumi is using his own ideas again, but Yamazaki and Eshiro worked alongside Takumi (even though Takumi was definitely boss) and they're still the ones running the series now

JesusMonroe: I appreciate the feedback, and I can see I have turned the knob a bit too high up about my bash of Yamazaki and co.

I will however stand by my opinion. Dual Destinies' final case was, as some stated a bit too similar to that of 1-5 for instance, and there's not one case in the game that didn't blatantly rip off older cases. The similarities to PLvsPWAA could be coincidences (heck, what do I know??) but it's strange considering the track record. I've said multiple times in detail where Dual Destinies didn't quite stick to original ideas, and since I'm just a faraway fan I don't honestly think Yamazaki will be bothered by my ranting.

But if it has start to bug some of you that we can't just keep on topic without negative rants towards Dual Destinies, then I will try to tone myself down abit. But thanks for keeping it civil ;)

(Sorry for late reply)Don't worry. You can shit-talk Yamazaki all you want. Most of your criticisms are fair. I just felt it was unnecessary and unwarranted here, especially since it's highly unlikely Yamazaki copied PLvAA. I could be completely wrong. I haven't played the game yet. If the similarities are too big to ignore, I'll be agreeing with you. If the similarities are just common tropes, then Takumi and Yamazaki just borrowed a page from the same book

I don't think all of Dual Destinies cases are rip-offs, though. 5-1 is completely original, 5-2 just used the same "locked-room murder" trope that Takumi and many other murder mystery writers have used before. 5-3 just used a theme murder and in a completely different way than Takumi used it. That's another thing that Takumi didn't invent. 5-4 is also pretty original. The only cases you could call rip-offs are 5-DLC and 5-5. The DLC is sketchy, though, as I could see the writers just thinking,

Spoiler: 5-DLC

"Somebody wants to kill an orca but accidentally kills someone else. They then decide to frame the murder on the orca to get it put down." I think the DLC is a better version of 2-3.

I can't say the same for 5-5, though, as 1-5 is my favorite case of the series

It's not like Takumi is a stranger to ripping off things, though. At least 5-5 and 5-DLC added their own spin on things. 2-3 is a COMPLETE rip-off of "The Leopard Man's Story." So much so that it's definitely not a coincidence. Takumi also borrows ideas from his older cases as well. None of them are 100% original. 3-3 does the, "victim was killed earlier and the killer dresses as the victim to create a witness and frame someone else" gag, just like 1-4, and the flashback portion of 4-4 rips of 3-4 just as much as 5-5 rips off 1-5. Ghost Trick borrows elements from Ace Attorney as well. You could argue that it's "okay" since Takumi is using his own ideas again, but Yamazaki and Eshiro worked alongside Takumi (even though Takumi was definitely boss) and they're still the ones running the series now

While I get what you're saying and it makes me sad to hear that Mr. Takumi has ripped off a mystery, if that's true, using tropes is vastly different from blatantly copy pasting an Ace Attorney case and then use it in the same series like 5-5 did. Tropes are there for a good reason, and if used skillfully can be used to enhance the story (although using too many might cause your work to look like a shonen manga, the genre which is just one giant circle jerk), while the other thing is just lazy writing and insulting to your fans.

I'm not going to argue that Mr. Yamazaki simply stole ideas from Professor Latyon vs Ace Attorney since I have no proof and it's more than a little mean, but there are so many things those games have in common that it makes it hard for me to believe otherwise. I know he didn't work on the game, but both he and Mr. Takumi work for the same company and even work on the same series; are you telling me there's no chance he heard anything about the game?

I'm not going to argue that Mr. Yamazaki simply stole ideas from Professor Latyon vs Ace Attorney since I have no proof and it's more than a little mean, but there are so many things those games have in common that it makes it hard for me to believe otherwise. I know he didn't work on the game, but both he and Mr. Takumi work for the same company and even work on the same series; are you telling me there's no chance he heard anything about the game?

Well, I don't know how similar the mystery/story is. Thankfully, I'm still very in the dark about this game. All I know is the prosecutor is a knight, the game is about the Salem Witch Trials, and Phoenix is a baker at some point. I can't argue if something is a coincidence or not. I'll take your word on it if the similarities are way too similar to not be suspicious. If it's just something like,

Spoiler: DD Case 5

"The Detective is the murderer!"

, then it's probably a coincidence (don't confirm or deny that)

As for the bolded part, I still say it's highly unlikely. Takumi didn't even know Phoenix would be the main character of GS5 until it was announced from the TGS trailer. The TGS trailer (which came out before PLvAA) shows that the writers had at least Cases 1, 4, and 5 plotted out, or at least the overarching mystery. I have no proof of this, but I think it's safe to say the entire game was written out at that point and then they just had to put it in production. If they heard anything about PLvAA, they'd have to rework the plot of their game

ETA: For the record, I'm not trying to bash Takumi. I love Takumi and the AA series along with Ghost Trick are some of my favorite games. I prefer Takumi over Yamazaki. I'm just defending Yamazaki because I think he's pretty swell, too

Yamazaki and Eshiro worked alongside Takumi (even though Takumi was definitely boss) and they're still the ones running the series now

Hard to say, really. They jumped on the hype train for GS5 while Takumi was busy with this game, so the mainstream GS games would even have a recent installment to speak of. Who knows who is going to direct GS6, especially that Takumi has lately considered returning to this franchise for something GS-like? I know for a good degree of certainty that Eshiro & Yamazaki are busy with GK3 by this point.

Thane wrote:

I know he didn't work on the game, but both he and Mr. Takumi work for the same company and even work on the same series; are you telling me there's no chance he heard anything about the game?

I think I've come up with a new theory. Since LKvsGS was released an entire year before GS5 was, it's likely Eshiro & co. had a crack at the game for themselves, and the decision to share a few certain ideas began to pop into their heads. It's not plagiarism because tropes are everywhere anyway, but it may actually have been intentional that certain things are a little more than coincidences. (Key word: certain, since there are only a few similarities I can come up with.) I've mentioned how much DD likes paying tribute to past games and other things. PLvsAA does just as much and then some, structuring its entire premise based on things that fans of the first Layton trilogy would recognize. Again, not plagiarism, but there's not so much ingenuity stopping by as it seems at first glance.

Hard to say, really. They jumped on the hype train for GS5 while Takumi was busy with this game, so the mainstream GS games would even have a recent installment to speak of. Who knows who is going to direct GS6, especially that Takumi has lately considered returning to this franchise for something GS-like? I know for a good degree of certainty that Eshiro & Yamazaki are busy with GK3 by this point.

I've been thinking that Takumi is just working on some other GS game (probably with new cast) that's not GS6. Yamazaki and Eshiro are working on GS6 or GK3. What makes you say they're working on GK3?

Rubia Ryu the Royal wrote:

I think I've come up with a new theory. Since LKvsGS was released an entire year before GS5 was, it's likely Eshiro & co. had a crack at the game for themselves, and the decision to share a few certain ideas began to pop into their heads

Eh. I don't buy that unless the things that were copied in Dual Destinies are small things. It's clear that GS5 team had a good handle on the plot before PL came out so things

Spoiler: DD

like the courtroom bombing, the final boss, the Mood Matrix, and Apollo's decision to leave the office (and indict Athena)

are all likely original ideas. Unless the moments that are similar are small inconsequential things that don't have a huge impact on the plot, I don't buy it. Yamazaki and Eshiro have made the GK games (and regardless of what the opinion on this forum is, those games were revered by fans and critics) so I think they know that they're capable. I just don't see them salivating at the release of Takumi's new game, slave to his ideas. It's just far-fetched to think that they played the game, liked his ideas better, and then reworked the entire plot of their game

Being extremely vague, can someone point out some of the similarities so I have a better grasp on what we're all talking about? If the similarities are twists/important at all, then don't bother

(And it's pure coincidence that I've replied to you a lot lately. I don't want you to think I'm out to get you or anything )

Last edited by JesusMonroe on Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm not going to argue that Mr. Yamazaki simply stole ideas from Professor Latyon vs Ace Attorney since I have no proof and it's more than a little mean, but there are so many things those games have in common that it makes it hard for me to believe otherwise. I know he didn't work on the game, but both he and Mr. Takumi work for the same company and even work on the same series; are you telling me there's no chance he heard anything about the game?

Well, I don't know how similar the mystery/story is. Thankfully, I'm still very in the dark about this game. All I know is the prosecutor is a knight, the game is about the Salem Witch Trials, and Phoenix is a baker at some point. I can't argue if something is a coincidence or not. I'll take your word on it if the similarities are way too similar to not be suspicious. If it's just something like,

Spoiler: DD Case 5

"The Detective is the murderer!"

, then it's probably a coincidence (don't confirm or deny that)

As for the bolded part, I still say it's highly unlikely. Takumi didn't even know Phoenix would be the main character of GS5 until it was announced from the TGS trailer. The TGS trailer (which came out before PLvAA) shows that the writers had at least Cases 1, 4, and 5 plotted out, or at least the overarching mystery. I have no proof of this, but I think it's safe to say the entire game was written out at that point and then they just had to put it in production. If they heard anything about PLvAA, they'd have to rework the plot of their game

ETA: For the record, I'm not trying to bash Takumi. I love Takumi and the AA series along with Ghost Trick are some of my favorite games. I prefer Takumi over Yamazaki. I'm just defending Yamazaki because I think he's pretty swell, too

Hm? As far as I know he was just surprised by the decision of focusing on Phoenix, and didn't have the interview until before the release trailer since that would, well, spoil stuff. Do you mind telling me how you know Mr. Takumi didn't know about Phoenix being the main character before the release trailer? I may just be misremembering the article.

I think Rubes is right in that they had an early look at the game and borrowed some elements from it. However, this discussion is going to lead nowhere since I don't want to spoil the game for you. Not being able to use examples makes this rather difficult. However, I can almost guarantee you'll be surprised by the eerie familiarity of some of the events in the game; I know I was.

I'm glad someone likes Mr. Yamakazi('s writing, I'm not bashing his person here) because I have a hard time accepting him as a substitute for Mr. Takumi, to say the least. I find the spin-offs downright boring and Dual Destinies was only decent, although it was clear that the man tried his best to deliver the classic Ace Attorney spirit, so I give him credit for that. However, there's just something in his writing that puts me off...he's like the testosterone cannon of the story-based game industry.

Again, ever since AAI and now DD I've felt that the best comparison I can come up with on fly with Yamazak and Takumi is that in a nutshell if a Takumi game is similar to Disney's Aladdin, then a Yamazaki-written game is Aladdin and the The Return of Jafar. I'm intentionally making this silly and taking it down to kiddie stage, so don't comment on the juveneile nature of my argument. I'm aware :3

Anyway, Thane, I believe you're the first person I've talked to that fully seem like you share my viewpoint completely :)

Before I had played PLvsPWAA I thought DD at least had some nice ideas of its own (don't misunderstand me, it still does have that!) and that overall the writing was leaps and bounds better than AAI, while still having the overarching flaw that it lacked subtlety and went too far with some of its crazier ideas, but having seen PLvsPWAA, again; It's just hard to believe that the similarities are coincidences.

Spoiler: Similarities between DD and older games

5-1 mimics 2-1's bloody handwriting thing as well as 4-3's. That's okay, this is passable, because it's practically a common trope for the series now.5-2 copies from 2-2. Don't believe me? Well Phoenix makes a JFA reference to 2-2 at the beginning of day 2 investigation.5-3 has the mock script which is painfully similar to the 4-3 lyric-murder, and oh, Klavier is even in it.5-4/5-5 mostly stands on it's own (OH WAIT, It actually follows the plot-formula of 1-5 close to a tee! It reuses some of the ideas of GK2's final villain not to mention the idea of the Phantom "a shadowy figure" is also similar to the Yatagarasu)5-6/DLC is Turnabout Big Top 2.0, though admittedly with less annoying characters.

See, you might say all of those examples are merely "Homages", but I have to say, I don't care about that. It's cheap to live off of ideas already used once, and even some that another guy came up with as a central element for every case. It didn't make Dual Destinies "bad" cuz, as I said, I do think the game is decent, but had there not been those carbon copies, I'd have thought it was a lot better for sure... but coupled with the direct similarities to PLvsPWAA, I find it hard to enjoy particularly case 5-2 and 5-3 a lot more now, but at the same time it also made me understand why some things in those cases didn't really make sense to me before.

Either way, whether if it's true or not that the GK team took things from PLvsPWAA (which none of us can simply confirm or deny) I think it makes PLvsPWAA stand out as the better game if you compare the similarities.

Spoiler: PLsPWAA vs DD example

The stuff with Greyerl made perfect sense in PLvsPWAA while in DD Robin's secret did not make sense in any way whatsoever. Why does being a girl prevent you from becoming a prosecutor?

Either way, whether if it's true or not that the GK team took things from PLvsPWAA (which none of us can simply confirm or deny) I think it makes PLvsPWAA stand out as the better game if you compare the similarities.

Spoiler: PLsPWAA vs DD example

The stuff with Greyerl made perfect sense in PLvsPWAA while in DD Robin's secret did not make sense in any way whatsoever. Why does being a girl prevent you from becoming a prosecutor?

Oh yes, absolutely, that always bothered me in Dual Destinies as well, although I think

Spoiler: Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Greyerl's

actions were a little extreme, but at least I was able to understand it.

Speaking of subtlety, or rather the lack thereof, I believe I've found the perfect example:

Spoiler: Turnabout Reclaimed and (minor) PLvsAA

In Turnabout Reclaimed, we're practically force-fed the cross examination of the orca even though it doesn't make sense, and you can almost imagine the developers standing right behind you expecting you to laugh. In Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, you are once again forced to question a parrot, and Maya complains about having to do that again or whatever, and that's it. Not only does it make much more sense in context, but it's a nice little nod to the (in?)famous 1-4 cross examination and it doesn't drag on long at all.

If that isn't a good example of the difference in writing quality, I don't know what is.

The whole "Expecting you to laugh" thing is so true. I've often thought that as well; Just didn't have the right way to put it.

It's not like Yamazaki is plain awful and Takumi as always excellent, don't get the impression that this is what I think, but I think Takumi's better when his writing "peaks" than when it does for Yamazaki. Also in regards to themes and literary telling, Yamazaki's style often relies too much on superficial things like

Spoiler: DD themes

Apollo and his bandages being symbols of his emotional suffering or detatched stuff like the courtroom bombing symbolising the dark age of the law or case 3's culprit being dubbed "The Embodiement of the Dark Age of the Law" even though there's honestly not much we can pull out from either of the two that truly makes it a compelling theme.

In PLvsPWAA I felt that the whole subtext surrounding the Witches and the very nature of Labyrinthia and the Story was executed so right. I don't want to bother going too much into the details, probably because I haven't had time to replay it yet, but as my initial impression, having beat it some weeks ago, I think the thematic stuff that goes on in PLvsPWAA was more straight to the point without beating around the bush like DD's pseudo-symbolism, and therefore more poignant and meaningful in the end. And a thing as simple as the "prose" of either of the games also has a very clear distinction.

I'd say, it's not that there's just one thing that makes either of the two games shine or look like crap, but it's just several small things in either game that makes Yamazaki's writing stand out as the weaker one.

Hm? As far as I know he was just surprised by the decision of focusing on Phoenix, and didn't have the interview until before the release trailer since that would, well, spoil stuff. Do you mind telling me how you know Mr. Takumi didn't know about Phoenix being the main character before the release trailer? I may just be misremembering the article.

I actually can't remember, so we'll agree to disagree here I guess. I still think it's unlikely. GK and GK2 are completely original games (cameos aside) and it's not like they got an early copy of Ghost Trick because they needed indirect aid fro Takumi. Fans and critics loved the GK series (not on this forum but... ) so I doubt they were sitting in their office, not writing the script to the Dual Destinies, because they were waiting for their early release copy of PLvAA. Capcom and Level-5 are two different companies, so that just makes it more unlikely.

But I agree that it's hard to continue the discussion since I haven't played PLvAA. I'll trust that you're right and I'll be thinking the similarities are eerie. Maybe I'll be redacting all of my posts on this thread after I play the game

linkenski wrote:

Again, ever since AAI and now DD I've felt that the best comparison I can come up with on fly with Yamazak and Takumi is that in a nutshell if a Takumi game is similar to Disney's Aladdin, then a Yamazaki-written game is Aladdin and the The Return of Jafar. I'm intentionally making this silly and taking it down to kiddie stage, so don't comment on the juveneile nature of my argument. I'm aware :3

Anyway, Thane, I believe you're the first person I've talked to that fully seem like you share my viewpoint completely :)

Before I had played PLvsPWAA I thought DD at least had some nice ideas of its own (don't misunderstand me, it still does have that!) and that overall the writing was leaps and bounds better than AAI, while still having the overarching flaw that it lacked subtlety and went too far with some of its crazier ideas, but having seen PLvsPWAA, again; It's just hard to believe that the similarities are coincidences.

Spoiler: Similarities between DD and older games

5-1 mimics 2-1's bloody handwriting thing as well as 4-3's. That's okay, this is passable, because it's practically a common trope for the series now.5-2 copies from 2-2. Don't believe me? Well Phoenix makes a JFA reference to 2-2 at the beginning of day 2 investigation.5-3 has the mock script which is painfully similar to the 4-3 lyric-murder, and oh, Klavier is even in it.5-4/5-5 mostly stands on it's own (OH WAIT, It actually follows the plot-formula of 1-5 close to a tee! It reuses some of the ideas of GK2's final villain not to mention the idea of the Phantom "a shadowy figure" is also similar to the Yatagarasu)5-6/DLC is Turnabout Big Top 2.0, though admittedly with less annoying characters.

See, you might say all of those examples are merely "Homages", but I have to say, I don't care about that. It's cheap to live off of ideas already used once, and even some that another guy came up with as a central element for every case. It didn't make Dual Destinies "bad" cuz, as I said, I do think the game is decent, but had there not been those carbon copies, I'd have thought it was a lot better for sure... but coupled with the direct similarities to PLvsPWAA, I find it hard to enjoy particularly case 5-2 and 5-3 a lot more now, but at the same time it also made me understand why some things in those cases didn't really make sense to me before.

Bah. Yamazaki is at least King of Thieves standards (though in your mindset, the comparison is very appropriate because I seem to remember the only thing the later Aladdin sequels doing better was the music)

Spoiler: DD Similarities

5-1: If the contradiction in the bloody writing was due to the fact that Apollo was knocked out immediately and couldn't have written it, or Juniper's name was spelt wrong, then I'd agree with you. It's not, though. Like you said, it's basically a staple of the series now. No one is saying 2-1 ripped off 1-2 or 3-5 ripped off 2-1 or 4-3 ripped off 3-5

5-2: I just looked and I didn't see anything like that. I know you recently played it so I don't think you're lying, but can you link a video with it or something? Anyway, again, locked room murders are a genre of mystery. If Yamazaki ripped off Takumi on this, Takumi ripped off hundreds of John Dickson Carr novels, Sherlock Holmes novels, etc. Takumi didn't invent the genre. 1-4 is also a variation of the locked room genre

5-3: Again, theme murders (committing a murder against a certain theme) are common tropes. Takumi didn't invent the genre. Plus, the way the case handles them is completely different. With 4-3, we're wondering, "Why did the killer follow the lyrics?" With 5-3, we know from the beginning it was to frame Juniper

5-4: Completely original. The only part you could argue was copied is that the last contradiction is similar to the Studio 1/2 contradiction from Turnabout Samurai

5-5: The UR-1 incident and the SL-9 incident are indeed very similar (but again, the flashback of 4-4 and 3-4 are just as similar). The rest of the case and mystery is still original with setting and the way the murder was carried out

5-DLC: I don't think we should give Takumi ownership of 2-3 considering he ripped off "The Leopard Man's Story." Plagiarizing someone else's work is more heinous than "plagiarizing" an idea in the series that you're running

The only one I could see being a "blatant rip-off" is 5-5. Everything else you mentioned is like one small similarity, but then it just gets called a blatant rip-off because of it?

PLvAA also has a parrot cross-examination. Does that get a pass for some reason?

If you truly believe, "It's cheap to live off ideas already used once", then Takumi is even worse than Yamazaki in that regard

As for what you said in your most recent post that you ninja'd me on...I agree. Takumi is excellent with his theming and Yamazaki either "Tells, don't show" (Dark Age of the Law) or doesn't go far enough with a subtle theme (the idea of masks in Dual Destinies)

Ghost Trick is actually a really deep game past face value. It's definitely deeper than any of the AA games (not saying none of them are deep, though)

It's gonna be a clusterbuck if I have to "cross-examine" your post with all the quotes, so I'll just add two things that caught my attention.

JesusMonroe wrote:

Spoiler:

PLvAA also has a parrot cross-examination. Does that get a pass for some reason?

If you truly believe, "It's cheap to live off ideas already used once", then Takumi is even worse than Yamazaki in that regard

You missed the last bit of my statement. I said: "It's cheap to live off of ideas already used once as a central element for every case. Takumi did use several of his ideas more than once, but he never made the whole case revolve around them, at least not AFAIK. Also reusing the Parrot thing still makes more sense than trying to do the same idea twice but with a whale instead because it doesn't make any sense compared to using a parrot which can actually speak. Also in PLvsPWAA it made perfect sense considering

Spoiler:

Luke can talk to animals

Also, regarding 5-2 vs. 2-2 and the locked-room murder: Hidden Chamber = Channeling Chamber. The similarity is glaring, and both use the "Only unlockable with the key from the inside"

Also, like I said, Phoenix even comments on it day-2 in DD, saying "I had a similar case once, but that had a prosecutor throwing her whip rather than throwing katanas" or something like that. Acknowledging the similarity doesn't mean it's passable IMO. Not for me.

PS. Hey wait... Monroe did you seriously say that my Aladdin comparison was fitting because DD is the game with better OST? OMGOSH, If you think PLvsPWAA has a worse soundtrack than DD, then we're two completely seperate beings!

Hard to say, really. They jumped on the hype train for GS5 while Takumi was busy with this game, so the mainstream GS games would even have a recent installment to speak of. Who knows who is going to direct GS6, especially that Takumi has lately considered returning to this franchise for something GS-like? I know for a good degree of certainty that Eshiro & Yamazaki are busy with GK3 by this point.

I've been thinking that Takumi is just working on some other GS game (probably with new cast) that's not GS6. Yamazaki and Eshiro are working on GS6 or GK3. What makes you say they're working on GK3?

Nothing is confirmed at this point, so I had to say "a good degree of certainty" rather than just "with certainty". Nonetheless, from one earlier announcement, Eshiro did say they had GK3 planned, and by Takumi's announcement of a new game, they had the next title in the works. There's no sign of GS6 having been brought up yet, so I'm going to set it aside until some real news comes along.

Quote:

Rubia Ryu the Royal wrote:

I think I've come up with a new theory. Since LKvsGS was released an entire year before GS5 was, it's likely Eshiro & co. had a crack at the game for themselves, and the decision to share a few certain ideas began to pop into their heads

Eh. I don't buy that unless the things that were copied in Dual Destinies are small things.

That's exactly what I said in my last post. "Certain" things which don't amount to much. GS5 is still an original title in its own right.

Quote:

(And it's pure coincidence that I've replied to you a lot lately. I don't want you to think I'm out to get you or anything )

These forums can lag sometimes, so whenever I see an active discussion, I just feel tempted to jump in. Besides, I don't care as long as I have fans of my translation works. :P I've been pretty busy lately, though...

Thane wrote:

Hm? As far as I know he was just surprised by the decision of focusing on Phoenix, and didn't have the interview until before the release trailer since that would, well, spoil stuff. Do you mind telling me how you know Mr. Takumi didn't know about Phoenix being the main character before the release trailer? I may just be misremembering the article.

Here's the link to the full interview if you're interested. It doesn't say anything about when he found out, but Capcom does have privacy policies even among development teams. I don't remember in which official blog I read it, but they wouldn't have peeked into each other's works. Hino of Level-5 was also pretty strict about keeping PLvsAA closed except from official trailers and promotions. The chance of Eshiro & co. learning about what stuff made it into PLvsAA wouldn't have been possible until close to its release in 2012, and by then, much of DD had been set in stone.

Quote:

However, there's just something in his writing that puts me off...he's like the testosterone cannon of the story-based game industry.

FAR from it, man. The GS series is quirky at any given time, but it's not as zany as some other mystery games I've seen *coughDanganRonpa2cough*

linkenski wrote:

It's cheap to live off of ideas already used once, and even some that another guy came up with as a central element for every case.

That depends on how the "lived off" ideas are applied. If it's done well, then there's no problem. DD's issue is that it comes off from left field and doesn't give satisfying explanations for some things, so those things may feel like they're "carbon copies" when they actually aren't.

As for why they did it that way, I'm not going to answer that. I have only speculation.

Quote:

Either way, whether if it's true or not that the GK team took things from PLvsPWAA (which none of us can simply confirm or deny) I think it makes PLvsPWAA stand out as the better game if you compare the similarities.

Spoiler: PLsPWAA vs DD example

The stuff with Greyerl made perfect sense in PLvsPWAA while in DD Robin's secret did not make sense in any way whatsoever. Why does being a girl prevent you from becoming a prosecutor?

Spoiler:

Robin's case was because of her parents. They wanted her to be a prosecutor, but were very conservative folks and believed it better to raise her as a son. Take it as something the localization team had struggled to address and came to leave alone because it doesn't transit well from Japanese. I don't hear any complaints about her parents' attitude from Japanese forums, anyhow.

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum